07 August 2017 Current Affairs
NASA’s Hubble detects Exoplanet with glowing water atmosphere
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has discovered the strongest evidence to date for a stratosphere on a planet outside our solar system, WASP-121b. The stratosphere is a layer of atmosphere in which temperature increases with higher altitudes. The discovery was made by an International team of researchers led by the the University of Exeter by observing glowing water molecules in WASP-121b’s atmosphere.
Aparna appointed as Executive Director of World Bank
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed senior IAS officer from Gujarat S. Aparna as Executive Director of the World Bank. At the World Bank, she will represent the constituency of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka for three years. She will replace Subhash Garg, who was recently appointed Economic Affairs Secretary, Union Ministry of Finance. Aparna is 1988-batch IAS officer, currently prinicipal Secretary to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Besides, she also has senior positions in Gujarat such as Economic Affairs, Surat Municipal Commissioner and Joint secretary, Urban Development at centre.
7 August: National Handloom Day
The National Handloom Day is being observed every year on 7 August to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also carter an impetus to India’s handloom industry. This year it was third edition of the National Handloom Day after it was instiuted in 2015. The Union government had declared 7 August as the National Handloom Day in July 2015 with the objective to generate awareness about imprtance of India’s handloom industry. The date August 7 was chosen to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on this date in 1905 in the Calcutta Town hall to protest against partition of Bengal by the British Government.
IIT Delhi researchers develops new nanotechnology-based drug delivery system
An all-women team of researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has developed a new drug delivery platform using nanoparticles. The nanotechnology-based drug delivery system has ability to boost the efficacy of antibiotics at the cellular level and improve chances of recovery from cancer-related bacterial infections. The nanoconjugate was able to kill 50% of bacteria at much lower concentration (400 nM) while the free peptide’s antibacterial activity was not significant at the same concentration.
IISc researchers develop low-cost, sensitive CO sensor
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) researchers from Bengaluru have developed a highly sensitive , low cost nanometre-scale carbon monoxide (CO) sensor, with potential applications in environmental pollution monitoring. The sensor was eveloped using novel fabrication technique that does not involve costly and time consuming lithography technology. Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas. It is harmful when inhaled in large amounts. The greatest source of CO is internal combustions (IC) engines of cars, trucks and other vehicles or machinery that burn fossil fuels.